Cat Chaser

Cat Chaser had a fair amount of promise from the start. Its director is the maverick Abel Ferrara who was responsible for such transgressive movies as The Driller Killer and The Bad Lieutenant, while its story is sourced from a novel by crime genre master Elmore Leonard. It has an interesting cast which has Peter Weller in the lead role, with a very good support. Charles Durning turns in the best performance as a sleazy sidekick. Tomas Milian is the chief baddie but looks almost unrecognisable from his days as an icon in 70's Italian movies. Kelly McGillis puts in a very uninhibited performance that includes a fair amount of full frontal nudity and a tough scene where she is abused by Milian. Frederic Forrest also stars, although his character doesn't really have a lot to do other than fall in swimming pools.

Despite the good personnel Cat Chaser lacks a certain overall impetus. Its story feels more than a little bit confused at times. The whole plot-line involving Weller's character travelling to the Caribbean to revisit a girl who saved his life years earlier is, to put it mildly, under-developed. It really could have been removed with no damage to the film in the slightest. I think the tales of the film being heavily re-edited by the studio would explain the somewhat haphazard cut of the film we have. The hand of Ferrara is only occasionally felt, most notably in a couple of shocking scenes. The aforementioned sequence involving McGillis is one, the other occurs later on where two men are stripped naked and shot to death. Both are pretty shocking for sure.

Although you have to think this movie should have been better, it's overall a decent enough flick.

"Cat Chaser" is an uninspired and confused novel knock-off which doesn't equal the sum of its many talented parts. The film involves romance, lust, greed, murder, deceit, etc. but comes off flat, one dimensional, and lacking the passion of its plot. An okay journeyman B-flick which should have been better but still has its moments and might satisfy the needy couch potato.

It took many years before an Elmore Leonard book was given celluloid justice - Jackie Brown. However, this is a brave stab mainly thanks to an interesting cast, notably a sleazy Charles Durning in an unusual role.

It takes all of about five minutes to realise that this is not a Ferrara movie, the Direction is haphazard and uninspiring. Weller does his best but the character is so one-dimensional, he becomes a supporting character in his own movie. This movie has a lot of promise and deserves a revisit, casting maybe a George Clooney, Alec Baldwin or Val Kilmer in the Moran role.

File under forgettable Eighties thriller.

It's no secret that "Cat Chaser" was taken away from director Abel Ferrara and slapped together by committee right around the time of the Vestron bankruptcy. Consequently, Ferrara has disavowed this film. But he shouldn't. While it has some murky plotting, no doubt due to the re-editing, it's quite an interesting, evocative adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel. Ferrara always impresses with his sharp direction, and the wonderful art direction really captures the feel of sleazy bars, motel rooms, and the Dominican Republic. Peter Weller is fine, Kelly McGillis is quite uninhibited in her numerous nude scenes, and it's fun to hear Charles Durning pronounce "toilet" as "tur-let." "Cat Chaser" is a lost treasure from the late 80's worthy of rediscovery and a director's edition DVD.

Despite having some notable people in the roles of writer, director, and actor, "Cat Chaser" was never given a theatrical release. It may have been because Vestron Pictures was always struggling when it came to releasing its movies since it never had as much money as the major studios had when it came to marketing and distribution. But I think the real reason for the movie going direct to video is that it isn't very good overall. Not everything about the movie is bad - the acting (especially by Charles Durning) is decent. But the movie ultimately sinks due to a combination of unspectacular locations (which are also flatly photographed) and a story that after the first twenty minutes makes very little sense afterwards. The trivia section says the rough cut ran 157 minutes - obviously A LOT of explanation was taken away in the editing room. If I ever get the chance to see the 157 minute version someday, I'll give the movie another chance. Until then, this is a movie to avoid.